Trade issues challenge apple crop for 1999
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - U.S. apple growers produced the second-largest crop on record in 1998, yet it hardly turned out to be a banner year, the director of the industry's national trade organization says.

Nativities
CHILDRESS - The Childress County Heritage Museum is featuring about 150 examples of why we celebrate Christmas. The nativity scenes, depicting the first few days of Christ on Earth, vary from the size of a walnut shell to a three-foot spread across a table.

Illness stumps researchers
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - As doctors in New Mexico worked to detect cases of the sometimes-fatal Hantavirus in its early stages, they found something else.

Medical Rounds
The Transplant Recipients International Organization will meet at 6 p.m. today in the parlor at St. Thomas Catholic Church. Participants are asked to use the entrance on the north side of the building and bring a dish of any kind for a potluck feast.

Gas line ruptures, explodes
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE (AP) - A ruptured gas line outside this small community triggered an explosion Saturday that sent flames billowing about 200 feet in the air, lighting the sky as far as Gallup, 25 miles west.

Hereford man presented French Legion of Honor
HEREFORD - Otto Olson sat quietly in his wheelchair Saturday at the Kings Manor Nursing Home in Hereford as several dozen friends, family and care givers talked about his accomplishments and sacrifices.

Abused woman struggles to care for child, mother
"Have you ever had your day suddenly turn sunshiny because of a cheerful word? Have you ever wondered if this could be the same world, because someone had been unexpectedly kind to you? You can make today the same for somebody. I

City residents echo national opinion polls
The House Judiciary Committee impeachment proceedings have done little to change public opinion about President Clinton, and Amarilloans are echoing the sentiments of residents across the nation.

Empty Stocking
Seventeen years of marriage and 17 years of physical and emotional abuse.

Commissioner remembered as hard worker
Randall County lost a commissioner who stayed in touch with his constituency, said Celia Forbis, a resident of John Currie Jr.'s precinct who encouraged him to run for the post 10 years ago.

Christmas tree forest didn't grow overnight
MEMPHIS - Three years ago, Jo Kemmer was new in Memphis. She had the old idea of having a Christmas tree forest. After all, they'd been doing it with success in her former residence of Corpus Christi for 25 years.

Letters: Not at all a laughing matter
The Republicans say they aren't driven by vengeance. What is driving them? It certainly isn't common sense. I believe it is the "Christian" coalition.

Editorial: Judicial efficiency
To increase the efficiency of the Randall County judicial system - and to keep a campaign promise - County Court at Law Judge-elect John Jay Thorpe wants County Judge Ted Wood to adjudicate the county's juvenile cases after Jan. 1.

Drawn-hunt system provides opportunity for archer
CANADIAN - The December wind cut across an overgrown road at Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area and scattered my scent to the south. A herd of coal-black pigs rose to their feet about 20 yards away. One grunted. Some peered through the leafless brush toward the road.

KC suffers without QB
KANSAS CITY - When you settle into the sofa and watch the Kansas City Chiefs take the field today, you may be struck by several thoughts:

Duncanville upsets Judson
HOUSTON (AP) - Down by two touchdowns with little more than a quarter remaining in its season, Duncanville needed something - or someone - to revive its flickering state title hopes.

Improving DiMaggio sits in hospital bed, talks to friends
NEW YORK - A day after he fell into what doctors feared would be a fatal coma, Joe DiMaggio sat up in his hospital bed Saturday and talked - an "absolute, dramatic turnaround" that doctors credited to a change in his antibiotic treatment.

Bronco fan club keeps growing
DENVER (AP) - The groupies in blue and orange are showing up more and more in out-of-town hotel lobbies. The weird phone calls are picking up, and the hostile crowds are more amiable.

Taylor not a surprise any more
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The Jacksonville Jaguars and their first 1,000-yard tailback have a lot in common. They're hard-working, productive and performing a little better than most people expected this season.

Still no title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Marty Schottenheimer's latest coaching victory for Kansas City was pure Martyball - a strong rushing game, no turnovers and cashing in the opponent's mistakes. One thing that was different was that it meant little to the Chiefs themselves.

IOC faces allegations of bribery
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Whispers and rumors about corruption within the International Olympic Committee have existed for years.

Brown's contract sparks complaints
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - One day after the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kevin Brown broke baseball's $100 million barrier, small-market teams complained they no longer can compete with the big spenders.

Red Raiders try to regroup
LUBBOCK - If you get enough so-called basketball experts together, they could debate all day long what's more important to a player - talent or confidence.

Tigers get big special teams play
BEDFORD - A play Daingerfield hadn't used all season was the turning point Saturday in the Tigers' 21-10 Class 3A Division II semifinal victory against the Childress Bobcats.

Lady Buffs finish strongly
The West Texas A&M Lady Buffs might not have started out their 16th Annual Lady Buffs Classic very strong, but that was some kick to the finish line.

No Surprise Here
NEW YORK (AP) - With the bright lights shining on his dreadlocks and a broad smile on his face, Ricky Williams walked to the podium and was nearly overwhelmed by his runaway Heisman Trophy victory.

'Body stacking' latest charge in Harris County
HOUSTON (AP) - Photographic evidence of corpses lying atop one another in the Harris County morgue is the latest revelation at a turmoil-plagued office that has been the focus of at least three criminal investigations.

Tobacco lawyers awarded record fee
DALLAS (AP) - An arbitration panel has awarded a record $8.16 billion to lawyers who negotiated multibillion tobacco settlements for Texas, Florida and Mississippi, setting off a firestorm of criticism from the tobacco industry and others.

Director: Endowment would increase revenue
From coastal marshes to the rocky desert of Palo Duro Canyon State Park, the diversity of ecosystems in Texas attracts more people from urban areas each year, studies show.

Clinton visits Arafat
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - On a historic mission of peace, President Clinton today told the Palestinian people they are free to "determine their own destiny on their own land," and he pledged that the United States would help them create a society of tolerance, freedom and prosperity.

Committee OKs fourth article, rejects censure
WASHINGTON (AP) - Plagued by partisanship to the end, the House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth and final article of impeachment Saturday against President Clinton, submitting his case to the full House for its verdict. A Democratic call for the lesser punishment of censure was rejected.

Teen survives attack, writes names in blood
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A teen-ager who feared he was going to die from stab wounds and a pipe beating wrote his attackers' names in blood on his car, then staggered nearly a quarter-mile to a house for help.

Clinton: No thoughts of resigning
JERUSALEM - With a grave impeachment threat overshadowing his Mideast diplomacy, President Clinton declared Sunday he will not resign and "It's never crossed my mind." He suggested Republican leaders oppose a censure vote in fear the lesser punishment might pass.

'None of the above' wins in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Puerto Ricans rejected statehood Sunday, giving supporters of the existing commonwealth status a narrow majority in a non-binding referendum on the island's ties to the United States.